Obesity Discussion Forums

[Santorin]

Hi all. I'm a noob to the forum. Someone mentioned this site on another forum that I am on and thought it would be a good idea to join the site.

I'm 28, female, 5'8" and weigh 176 lbs. I used to be somewhat active and worked out a bit, but have become very lazy over the last couple of years, plus I had knee surgery last year so it hindered my ability to be as active as I was before.

Now, I am looking for a change. I quit smoking in December and that has been great and now I want to work out again, ride my bike; just get back in shape. Before I started gaining all this weight, I weighed in at 135. I didn't have much muscle, but looked good. Now I would like to add a some muscle and become leaner.

I think my major issue right now is the types of food I eat. Fatty, greasy, cheesy, etc. The way I eat has caught up to me in more ways then one. I now have GERD...or better known as Acid Reflux.

Okay...I seem to have written a novel here. My goal is to get down to 140-145ish. I'm not sure what my ideal BMI should be, though.

Any incouraging words or support are gladly welcome. Any food ideas would be great, too. I do have to say that I am a very, very picky eater. I like very few vegetables, a handful of fruits, no fish, mainly like american and italian foods. Sigh...

Anyway, I look forward to reading all the success stories on the site.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Hi all. I'm a noob to the forum. Someone mentioned this site on another forum that I am on and thought it would be a good idea to join the site.

I'm 28, female, 5'8" and weigh 176 lbs. I used to be somewhat active and worked out a bit, but have become very lazy over the last couple of years, plus I had knee surgery last year so it hindered my ability to be as active as I was before.

Now, I am looking for a change. I quit smoking in December and that has been great and now I want to work out again, ride my bike; just get back in shape. Before I started gaining all this weight, I weighed in at 135. I didn't have much muscle, but looked good. Now I would like to add a some muscle and become leaner.

I think my major issue right now is the types of food I eat. Fatty, greasy, cheesy, etc. The way I eat has caught up to me in more ways then one. I now have GERD...or better known as Acid Reflux.

Okay...I seem to have written a novel here. My goal is to get down to 140-145ish. I'm not sure what my ideal BMI should be, though.

Any incouraging words or support are gladly welcome. Any food ideas would be great, too. I do have to say that I am a very, very picky eater. I like very few vegetables, a handful of fruits, no fish, mainly like american and italian foods. Sigh...

Anyway, I look forward to reading all the success stories on the site.

First off welcome to the site!!!!

I really wouldn't concern yourself so much with BMI. BMI is not an ideal measurement tool to determine your weight or health levels. BMI does not factor in muscle you have added to your body. In fact, when you add muscle, you get penalized for it in the BMI calculation! For example, my BMI comes out to 26 which classifies me as overweight, however, I am an avid weightlifter and fairly trim these days.

Italian foods are very tough because they frequently are either fried or ladened with carbs, butter and oil. Can you list some of the exact foods you do like so maybe we can help you find some foods that are healthy that you and your stomach will enjoy as well?

[William Wallace]

with OD. Body fat percentage is a much better calculation than BMI. I'm a very picky eater myself so I feel your pain on eating healthy. I thoguth it was going to be a lot harder than it ended up being, so I am sure there are plenty of healthy foods out there which will peak your interests.

30lbs is cake. You'll be dropping lbs like no tomorrow.

We are glad to have you here

[Santorin]

Good to know about the BMI. It can be pretty depressing, too. At least right now. I'm in the 30's, at least that is what the pinch test showed.

Italian foods. I do try to eat wheat pasta with a red sauce. My favorite Italian food is lasagna and I haven't found any restaurants that use wheat pasta. I guess it still isn't good with all that cheese.

Ok, foods I will eat...

Green beans, but I only like them with a butter or a butter substitute. Right now I am using Promise. Sometimes I will use Smart Balance. I've never had fresh green beans...just out of the can. Bad, I know.

Garlic - like it in pot roast, bread, steaks, and probably other things.

Leafy greens - salads
Love Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf, like red cabage...in my salads. The only dressing I like is Catalina. So, I get either Light or Fat Free.

Fruits - Apples, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, oranges , peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries (jarred marashino (sp)), mango....I think that is about it.

Dairy - cheese. I'm not really into milk. When I have cereal I will use 1% or 2% milk.

I love cereal of just about any kind. I currently have honey nut cherrios and total. My favorite is Cookie Crisp. lol

Meats -
Beef...ground beef is 94/6 or 93/7 (whichever I can find),
Lean steaks for the most part, but I love Ribeyes and T-bones.
Chicken - baked, rotis., grilled, fried (I know I can't have this anymore)
Pork - Not too into pork, but I do like butterfly pork chops on the grill.

Nuts - not into those. I do like peanut butter, though. I try to get natty pb, but have purchased smart choice or something like that.

I know it's not much. I am just sooooo picky. Is there hope?

[Santorin]

Originally Posted by William Wallace

with OD. Body fat percentage is a much better calculation than BMI. I'm a very picky eater myself so I feel your pain on eating healthy. I thoguth it was going to be a lot harder than it ended up being, so I am sure there are plenty of healthy foods out there which will peak your interests.

30lbs is cake. You'll be dropping lbs like no tomorrow.

We are glad to have you here

Cool! I'm glad I am not the only picky eater. That means there is hope for me yet.

Body fat percentage...how do you measure that? I was told my lean mass was 128 in pounds I think and I weigh 176 so is that a way to determine BF%?

[justme]

From one to another welcome

Originally Posted by Santorin

Good to know about the BMI. It can be pretty depressing, too. At least right now. I'm in the 30's, at least that is what the pinch test showed.

Italian foods. I do try to eat wheat pasta with a red sauce. My favorite Italian food is lasagna and I haven't found any restaurants that use wheat pasta. I guess it still isn't good with all that cheese.

Ok, foods I will eat...

Green beans, but I only like them with a butter or a butter substitute. Right now I am using Promise. Sometimes I will use Smart Balance. I've never had fresh green beans...just out of the can. Bad, I know.

Leafy greens - salads
Love Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf, like red cabage...in my salads. The only dressing I like is Catalina. So, I get either Light or Fat Free.

Fruits - Apples, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, oranges , peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries (jarred marashino (sp)), mango....I think that is about it.

Dairy - cheese. I'm not really into milk. When I have cereal I will use 1% or 2% milk.

I love cereal of just about any kind. I currently have honey nut cherrios and total. My favorite is Cookie Crisp. lol

Meats -
Beef...ground beef is 94/6 or 93/7 (whichever I can find),
Lean steaks for the most part, but I love Ribeyes and T-bones.
Chicken - baked, rotis., grilled, fried (I know I can't have this anymore)
Pork - Not too into pork, but I do like butterfly pork chops on the grill.

Nuts - not into those. I do like peanut butter, though. I try to get natty pb, but have purchased smart choice or something like that.

I know it's not much. I am just sooooo picky. Is there hope?

I do not consider myself a picky eater and you eat more friuit than I do.

You will do fine.

[William Wallace]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Cool! I'm glad I am not the only picky eater. That means there is hope for me yet.

Body fat percentage...how do you measure that? I was told my lean mass was 128 in pounds I think and I weigh 176 so is that a way to determine BF%?

How exactly was your lean mass determined? The best way to get body fat tested is using a hydrostatic dunk tank. They are not available everywhere, but it's one of the most accurate ways to measure this.

[Santorin]

Originally Posted by YTWCKF

From one to another welcome



I do not consider myself a picky eater and you eat more friuit than I do.

You will do fine.

Thanks for the welcome! I do seem to like quite a bit more fruit than I thought. Now vegetables...not so much. lol

[Santorin]

Originally Posted by William Wallace

How exactly was your lean mass determined? The best way to get body fat tested is using a hydrostatic dunk tank. They are not available everywhere, but it's one of the most accurate ways to measure this.

It was all done with the pinch test calipers. She took the measurements and then put them in the computer and it told her 36%, I believe.

Is it pretty expensive to get tested using the dunk tank?

[William Wallace]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Thanks for the welcome! I do seem to like quite a bit more fruit than I thought. Now vegetables...not so much. lol

Unfortunately fruit does have a good amount of sugar, so don't go overboard!

Originally Posted by Santorin

It was all done with the pinch test calipers. She took the measurements and then put them in the computer and it told her 36%, I believe.

Is it pretty expensive to get tested using the dunk tank?

Pinch test aren't terribly accurate.....I know MikeB. here pays $40 for each measurement. Maybe he'll chime in. They're much easier to find in big cities than small ones, I do know that.

[Santorin]

Originally Posted by William Wallace

Unfortunately fruit does have a good amount of sugar, so don't go overboard!



Pinch test aren't terribly accurate.....I know MikeB. here pays $40 for each measurement. Maybe he'll chime in. They're much easier to find in big cities than small ones, I do know that.

I probably should make sure I don't eat too much fruit. Especially strawberries because I always have to put sugar on them. That probably helped a bit with the weight gain.

Good thing I am in a big city. I bet I can find a place to get it done and $40 isn't a bad price.

[Irving]

Originally Posted by Santorin

I probably should make sure I don't eat too much fruit. Especially strawberries because I always have to put sugar on them. That probably helped a bit with the weight gain.

Good thing I am in a big city. I bet I can find a place to get it done and $40 isn't a bad price.

sugar + strawberries = for weight loss that is for sure. i have learned a lot from this site and i have lost a good amount of weight thanks to guidance i have received here.

[Santorin]

What about a sugar substitute?

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Santorin

What about a sugar substitute?

Better than sugar; we like to recommend Splenda only around here. Too many bad studies potential side effects for the others.

I use it in my coffee in the mornings or I only get diet sodas that use it when I splurge and have diet soda.

[Merle]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Good to know about the BMI. It can be pretty depressing, too. At least right now. I'm in the 30's, at least that is what the pinch test showed.

Italian foods. I do try to eat wheat pasta with a red sauce. My favorite Italian food is lasagna and I haven't found any restaurants that use wheat pasta. I guess it still isn't good with all that cheese.

Ok, foods I will eat...

Green beans, but I only like them with a butter or a butter substitute. Right now I am using Promise. Sometimes I will use Smart Balance. I've never had fresh green beans...just out of the can. Bad, I know.

Garlic - like it in pot roast, bread, steaks, and probably other things.

Leafy greens - salads
Love Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf, like red cabage...in my salads. The only dressing I like is Catalina. So, I get either Light or Fat Free.

Fruits - Apples, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, oranges , peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries (jarred marashino (sp)), mango....I think that is about it.

Dairy - cheese. I'm not really into milk. When I have cereal I will use 1% or 2% milk.

I love cereal of just about any kind. I currently have honey nut cherrios and total. My favorite is Cookie Crisp. lol

Meats -
Beef...ground beef is 94/6 or 93/7 (whichever I can find),
Lean steaks for the most part, but I love Ribeyes and T-bones.
Chicken - baked, rotis., grilled, fried (I know I can't have this anymore)
Pork - Not too into pork, but I do like butterfly pork chops on the grill.

Nuts - not into those. I do like peanut butter, though. I try to get natty pb, but have purchased smart choice or something like that.

I know it's not much. I am just sooooo picky. Is there hope?

No sweat! You have a lot to work with.

Italian foods and fried foods are the devil! Stay away! No more cookiie crisp .

Everything else looks very good however.

[Santorin]

Thanks everone! I appreciate the help.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Thanks everone! I appreciate the help.

Our pleasure. Let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with, such as figuring out calories you need to eat in a given day to accomplish your goals, etc..

[Santorin]

Will do. Thanks! I'm in to cycling now and am hoping that helps with the exercising. I'm waiting for a friend to heal from a recent softball injury so we can start playing racquetball again. That was always fun.

I was told by a personal trainer that I should be taking in between 1600 cals or so for what I want to lose in conjunction with exercise. When I was using the trainer, I had lost 15lbs and it seemed to be working well, but then I had a knee injury and had to have knee surgery and gained the 15 back again leaving me at 176 once again.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Santorin

Will do. Thanks! I'm in to cycling now and am hoping that helps with the exercising. I'm waiting for a friend to heal from a recent softball injury so we can start playing racquetball again. That was always fun.

I was told by a personal trainer that I should be taking in between 1600 cals or so for what I want to lose in conjunction with exercise. When I was using the trainer, I had lost 15lbs and it seemed to be working well, but then I had a knee injury and had to have knee surgery and gained the 15 back again leaving me at 176 once again.

Raquetball is great exercise. I used to love to play in college. Hope the knee continues to get better. I'm assuming your personal trainer factored in your activity level and everything else when calculating the calories you needed. 1600 sounds like a fair number.